What is in the Collection?

Civil registration indexes were created to provide name access to the records.

All of Ireland, pre-1922: For 1845–1877, the national civil registration indexes are yearly and are arranged alphabetically by an individual’s family and given name. For 1878–1921, each year is divided into quarters, resulting in four index volumes per year.

The March quarter indexes events from January through March; the June quarter, events from April through June; the September quarter, events from July through September; and the December quarter, events from October through December.

Be aware the marriage indexes for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters of 1897 were either missed in filming or were not available.

The General Register Office created a second index for the years 1903–1921. This index is arranged by year and is available only at the office.

Republic of Ireland, 1845–1958: For the years 1922–1927, and 1933, the General Register Office’s copy of birth indexes is filed by year while the Family History Library’s microfilm copies (1945–1958) are all filed by quarter. Indexes for all other years and all other events through 1958 are by quarter.

Northern Ireland, 1845–1958: These indexes are quarterly, meaning there are four indexes per year. These indexes provide: name, registration district, volume number, and a page number. This reference then can be sent to the General Register Office 1845-1958 to obtain a document or looked at 1845-1958 through The Family History Library or a Family History Center.

Ireland kept two sets of registrations, one local and the other national. This document describes the national indexes, not the local ones. Prior to the separation of the Irish Free State (now Republic of Ireland) from the Northern Ireland in 1922, all national civil registration records and indexes for the island were kept by the General Register Office in Dublin. Beginning in 1922 there were two General Register Offices, one in Dublin for the Republic of Ireland and one in Belfast for Northern Ireland. Irish civil registration indexes begin in 1845 for non-Catholic marriages. Civil registration indexes to births, deaths, and all marriages (including Catholic) begin in 1864. Indexes for all of Ireland continue from these beginning dates through 1921, when Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland became separate countries. Separate civil registration indexes continue for births, marriages, and deaths for the two countries from 1922 to 1958.

The indexes are made from the national set of civil registration records, which in turn are copies of the local registration records. Accidental omissions and mistakes have been made in the copying and indexing processes. Otherwise, the data is quite reliable.

Collection Contents

Birth records may contain the following information:

Date and place of birth

Name of Child (if any)

Full name and dwelling place of father

Full name (including maiden name) of mother

Rank or profession of father

Signature

Qualification and residence of informant

Date of registration

Signature of the registrar

Registration district

Superintendent registrar's district

County

Marriage records may contain the following information:

Registrar's district

Place of marriage

When married

Full names of bride and groom

Age

Marital status

Rank or profession of bride and groom

Residence at the time of marriage

Father's full name

Father's rank or profession

Signatures of the bride and groom

Witnesses to the marriage

Death records may contain the following information:

Registration district

Superintendent registrar's district and county

Date and place of death

Name and surname of deceased

Sex

Marital status

Age at last birthday

Rank, profession, or occupation

Certified cause of death

Signature, qualification, and residence of informant

When registered

Signature of registrar

Sample Images

Birth Record

Marriage Record

Death Record

How Do I Search the Collection?

Civil registration indexes provide the easiest access to civil registration records. Rather than searching district by district where names are not in alphabetical order, you can look in one name index for the period through 1921 and in either of two indexes after 1921.

Those using Record Search indexes should note that the microfilm which are of the General Register Office for the Republic of Ireland Indexes of Birth, Marriage and Death contain only index entries and do not contain further genealogical information. In order to obtain further information it is necessary to apply for either photocopy or certificate to the General Register Office.

To search this collection by name: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

When searching: As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

What Do I Do Next?

Each indexed entry in the online Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes collection includes the Civil Registration volume number and page number where the event was registered, as well as the registration year/quarter. Some original volumes were microfilmed and can be viewed at FamilySearch Centers, affiliate libraries, or the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Others must be ordered from the Ireland General Register Office (GRO).

The Ireland Civil Registration microfilm collections listed in the FamilySearch Catalog include the following.

If the registration date that was found in the online Indexes is not within the applicable year range noted above, order the record by following the instructions on the GRO website.

If the registration date is within the applicable year range: 1. Follow the link above for the appropriate microfilm collection. 2. Scroll down past the indexes to the matching event, year/quarter, and volume that were found in the online Indexes. 3. To order the film, click on the corresponding hyperlinked film number and follow the instructions that appear. 4. When viewing the film, use the page number that was found on the online Indexes record to scroll quickly through the microfilm and locate the original record.

Note: When any collection is sorted by quarters, the records for January, February and March will be found in the March quarter. The same pattern is used for the June, September and December quarters.

Coverage Table

Births

DGS Number

GS Number

Year

Images

Records

Notes

4187281

101041

1864

390

142,510

4187282

101042

1865

430

154,811

4187283

101043

1866

412

149,655

4187284

101044

1867

405

145,073

missing pages 10, 11, 14, 15, 18 and 19

4187285

101045

1868

420

152,339

4187286

101046

1869

407

149,912

Contains As through Thomas, Elenor Jane only; pages following were missed in filming. On page 39-50, there is a gap between Carroll, John of Dungannon and Carvill, James Richard, of Limerick.

4187287

101047

1870

426

156,617

4193452

101048

1871

442

161,105

4187288

101049

1872

434

157,987

4187289

101050

1873

406

148,842

4187290

101051

1874

409

148,355

4193453

101052

1875

402

145,174

4193454

101053

1876

403

147,309

4193455

101054

1877

408

147,601

4193456

101055

1878

402

141,596

4193457

101056

1879

411

145,692

4193458

101057

1880

382

134,191

missing pages 34-35

4193459

101058

1881-1882

746

266,601

4193460

101059

1883

362

126,919

4193461

101060

1884-1885

709

253,401

4193975

101061

1886-1887

687

245,237

4193976

101062

1888-1889

657

234,626

4193977

101063

1890-1891

652

232,476

4193978

101064

1892-1893

627

222,681

pages 29-32 of the 1892 September Quarter are missing

4193979

101065

1894-1895

636

228,022

4193980

101066

1896-1897

645

230,554

4193981

101067

1898-1899

627

223,485

4193982

101068

1900-1901

609

214,219

4193983

101069

1902-1903

601

215,735

4193984

101070

1904-1905

609

219,750

4194690

101071

1906-1907

623

223,125

4194691

101072

1908-1909

635

229,097

4194692

101073

1910

306

109,126

4194693

101074

1911-1912

678

246,810

4194694

101075

1913-1914

588

213,082

4194695

101076

1915-1916

571

204,791

4194696

101077

1917-1918

533

191,549

4194697

101078

1919-1920

591

211,652

4194698

101079

1921

281

100,685

4194699

101229

1922-1925

763

266,126

4195645

101230

1926-1928

621

200,017

4195646

101231

1929-1931

665

192,966

4195647

101232

1932-1934

630

191,470

4195648

101233

1935-1936

661

188,002

4195649

101234

1937-1939

655

187,945

4195650

101235

1940-1942

745

212,260

4195651

101236

1943-1944

632

183,743

4195652

101237

1945-1946

648

186,447

4195653

101238

1947

316

92,090

4195654

101239

1948

544

159,175

4196048

101240

1949

557

160,073

4202052

257844

1950

255

76,152

4202542

257845

1950-1954

605

179,467

4202543

257846

1953-1954

659

192,787

4202544

257847

1955

352

101,217

4202545

257848

1956

374

108,047

4202546

257849

1957-1958

697

203,806

Marriages

DGS Number

GS Number

Years

Images

Records

4195887

101241

1845-1847

632

48,891

4195888

101242

1848-1850

806

62,677

4195889

101243

1851

270

20,698

4195890

101244

1852-1853

564

43,589

4195891

101245

1854-1855

504

39,305

4195892

101246

1856-1857

542

42,062

4195893

101247

1858-1859

512

39,788

4195894

101248

1860-1862

749

58,581

4179382

101249

1863-1865

589

143,150

4179383

101250

1866-1868

523

186,459

4179384

101251

1869-1872

680

242,222

4179385

101252

1873-1876

633

223,398

4179386

101253

1877-1880

618

210,641

4179387

101254

1881-1884

595

200,886

4179726

101255

1885-1888

565

191,423

4179388

101256

1889-1892

573

194,138

4179389

101257

1893-1895

449

151,961

4179390

101258

1896-1897

209

69,225

4195895

101259

1898-1901

590

200,292

4199362

101260

1902-1905

598

208,466

4199363

101261

1906-1909

596

205,912

4199364

101262

1910-1914

730

256,252

4199365

101263

1915-1917

442

154,587

4199366

101264

1918-1921

659

231,646

4199367

101575

1922-1926

507

170,407

4199368

101576

1927-1932

628

217,767

4199369

101577

1933-1937

575

197,615

4199370

101578

1938-1942

675

233,295

4199371

101579

1943-1945

517

173,861

4200212

101580

1946-1947

367

129,538

4200213

101581

1948-1949

538

189,969

4202547

257850

1950-1952

596

207,042

4202548

257851

1953-1954

325

112,825

4202549

257852

1955-1958

729

250,116

Deaths

DGS Number

GS Number

Years

Images

Records

Notes

4200214

101582

1864-1865

571

206,376

4200215

101583

1866-1867

544

196,567

4200216

101584

1868-1869

510

183,796

4200217

101585

1870-1871

533

192,443

4200218

101586

1872-1873

550

200,052

4200219

101587

1874-1875

543

196,778

4200220

101588

1876-1877

539

194,111

4200221

101589

1878-1879

608

214,677

4200672

101590

1880-1881

577

405,800

4200673

101591

1882

279

96,357

4200674

101592

1883-1884

568

396,770

4200675

101593

1885-1886

547

192,298

4200676

101594

1887-1888

520

184,692

4200677

101595

1889

264

91,274

4200678

101596

1890-1891

524

183,210

4200679

101597

1892-1893

532

186,010

4200680

101598

1894-1895

508

178,775

3rd qtr 1894 is missing pages 22-23

4200681

101599

1896-1897

482

170,732

4201704

101600

1898-1899

500

175,858

4201705

101601

1900-1902

752

265,925

4201706

101602

1903-1905

702

248,668

4201707

101603

1906-1907

460

165,450

4201708

101604

1908-1910

678

242,328

4201709

101605

1911-1913

652

233,419

4201710

101606

1914-1916

662

234,579

4201711

101607

1917-1919

691

245,823

4201712

101608

1920-1921

401

142,370

4201713

101735

1922

154

50,304

4202043

101736

1923-1926

571

192,236

4202044

101737

1927-1929

459

139,339

4202045

101738

1930-1931

328

92,516

4202046

101739

1932-1934

457

137,156

4202047

101740

1935-1937

496

141,656

4202048

101741

1938-1941

653

183,100

4202049

101742

1942-1944

590

163,774

4202050

101743

1945-1947

670

157,882

4202051

101744

1948-1949

635

149,144

4202550

257853

1950

285

65,398

4202551

257854

1951-1953

571

133,974

4202552

257855

1954-1956

583

135,682

4202553

257856

1957-1958

396

93,155

Tips to Keep in Mind

All of Ireland to 1922:

Listed next to each name is the district where the event was registered (also known as the registration district, poor law union, county district), the volume, and the page number.

Death indexes also give the age at death.

The yearly birth indexes for 1903–1921 at the General Register Office include a birth date and the mother’s maiden name. Family History Library microfilm copies for this time period are of the quarterly indexes, which do not include a birth date or the mother's maiden name.

The Republic of Ireland after 1922:

The General Register Office for the Republic of Ireland (GRO) has registered and indexed events for the Republic of Ireland only. For 1922–1927, GRO copies of the birth index include a birth date and the mother’s maiden name. Family History Library microfilm copies for this time period are of the quarterly indexes, which do not include a birth date or the mother’s maiden name.

For 1928–1965, all birth indexes are quarterly and give the mother’s maiden name but not the birth date of the newborn.

Known Issues with This Collection

For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to support@familysearch.org. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

How Can I Contribute to the FamilySearch Wiki?

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Please follow these guidelines as you make changes. Thank you for any contributions you may provide.

Citing this Collection

Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.